| insecticide-treated plastic sheeting for emergency malaria prevention and shelter among displaced populations: an observational cohort study in a refugee setting in sierra leone. | a double-blind phase iii malaria prevention trial was conducted in two refugee camps using pre-manufactured insecticide-treated plastic sheeting (itps) or untreated polyethylene sheeting (ups) randomly deployed to defined sectors of each camp. in largo camp the itps or ups was attached to inner walls and ceilings of shelters, whereas in tobanda the itps or ups was used to line only the ceiling and roof. in largo the plasmodium falciparum incidence rate in children up to 3 years of age who were c ... | 0 | 22855753 |
| mapping the receptivity of malaria risk to plan the future of control in somalia. | to measure the receptive risks of malaria in somalia and compare decisions on intervention scale-up based on this map and the more widely used contemporary risk maps. | 2012 | 22855625 |
| analysis of genes expression of spodoptera exigua larvae upon acmnpv infection. | the impact of autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (acmnpv) infection on host gene expression in spodoptera exigua 4th instar larvae was investigated through the use of 454 sequencing-based rna-seq of cdna libraries developed from insects challenged with active acmnpv or heat-inactivated acmnpv. | 2012 | 22860129 |
| increased risks of malaria due to limited residual life of insecticide and outdoor biting versus protection by combined use of nets and indoor residual spraying on bioko island, equatorial guinea. | malaria is endemic on bioko island, equatorial guinea, with year-round transmission. in 2004 an intensive malaria control strategy primarily based on indoor residual spraying (irs) was launched. the limited residual life of irs poses particular challenges in a setting with year-round transmission, such as bioko. recent reports of outdoor biting by anopheles gambiae are an additional cause for concern. in this study, the effect of the short residual life of bendiocarb insecticide and of children ... | 2012 | 22835049 |
| identification of distant agouti-like sequences and re-evaluation of the evolutionary history of the agouti-related peptide (agrp). | the agouti-like peptides including agrp, asip and the teleost-specific a2 (asip2 and agrp2) peptides have potent and diverse functional roles in feeding, pigmentation and background adaptation mechanisms. there are contradictory theories about the evolution of the agouti-like peptide family as well the nomenclature. here we performed comprehensive mining and annotation of vertebrate agouti-like sequences. we identified a2 sequences from salmon, trout, seabass, cod, cichlid, tilapia, gilt-headed ... | 2012 | 22815886 |
| thermal limits of wild and laboratory strains of two african malaria vector species, anopheles arabiensis and anopheles funestus. | malaria affects large parts of the developing world and is responsible for almost 800,000 deaths annually. as climates change, concerns have arisen as to how this vector-borne disease will be impacted by changing rainfall patterns and warming temperatures. despite the importance and controversy surrounding the impact of climate change on the potential spread of this disease, little information exists on the tolerances of several of the vector species themselves. | 2012 | 22770378 |
| megabase-scale inversion polymorphism in the wild ancestor of maize. | chromosomal inversions are thought to play a special role in local adaptation, through dramatic suppression of recombination, which favors the maintenance of locally adapted alleles. however, relatively few inversions have been characterized in population genomic data. on the basis of single-nucleotide polymorphism (snp) genotyping across a large panel of zea mays, we have identified an ∼50-mb region on the short arm of chromosome 1 where patterns of polymorphism are highly consistent with a pol ... | 2012 | 22542971 |
| the complete mitochondrial genomes of two ghost moths, thitarodes renzhiensis and thitarodes yunnanensis: the ancestral gene arrangement in lepidoptera. | lepidoptera encompasses more than 160,000 described species that have been classified into 45-48 superfamilies. the previously determined lepidoptera mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) are limited to six superfamilies of the lineage ditrysia. compared with the ancestral insect gene order, these mitogenomes all contain a trna rearrangement. to gain new insights into lepidoptera mitogenome evolution, we sequenced the mitogenomes of two ghost moths that belong to the non-ditrysian lineage hepialoi ... | 2012 | 22726496 |
| reliability of rapid diagnostic tests in diagnosing pregnancy-associated malaria in north-eastern tanzania. | accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment of pregnancy-associated malaria (pam) are key aspects in averting adverse pregnancy outcomes. microscopy is the gold standard in malaria diagnosis, but it has limited detection and availability. when used appropriately, rapid diagnostic tests (rdts) could be an ideal diagnostic complement to microscopy, due to their ease of use and adequate sensitivity in detecting even sub-microscopic infections. polymerase chain reaction (pcr) is even more sensitive, but ... | 2012 | 22720788 |
| airflow attenuation and bed net utilization: observations from africa and asia. | qualitative studies suggest that bed nets affect the thermal comfort of users. to understand and reduce this discomfort the effect of bed nets on temperature, humidity, and airflow was measured in rural homes in asia and africa, as well as in an experimental wind tunnel. two investigators with architectural training selected 60 houses in the gambia, tanzania, philippines, and thailand. data-loggers were used to measure indoor temperatures in hourly intervals over a 12 months period. in a subgrou ... | 2012 | 22704585 |
| seasonal variation in metabolic rate, flight activity and body size of anopheles gambiae in the sahel. | malaria in africa is vectored primarily by the anopheles gambiae complex. although the mechanisms of population persistence during the dry season are not yet known, targeting dry season mosquitoes could provide opportunities for vector control. in the sahel, it appears likely that m-form a. gambiae survive by aestivation (entering a dormant state). to assess the role of eco-physiological changes associated with dry season survival, we measured body size, flight activity and metabolic rate of wil ... | 0 | 22623189 |
| identification and characterization of two chitin synthase genes in african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae. | chitin synthase (chs) represents an attractive target site for combating insect pests as insect growth and development are strictly dependent on precisely tuned chitin biosynthesis and this pathway is absent in humans and other vertebrates. current knowledge on chs in insects, especially their structures, functions, and regulations is still very limited. we report the identification and characterization of two chitin synthase genes, agchs1 and agchs2, in african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambi ... | 2012 | 22683441 |
| effect of swamp cultivation on distribution of anopheline larval habitats in western kenya. | malaria resurgence in highland regions of east africa has been on increase. the spatio-temporal distribution of larval habitats of malaria vectors determines the distribution of adult vectors, hence, disease transmission. vector's ecology is necessary for strategic vector control through effective plan for source reduction. mapping of the larval habitats is necessary for targeted control measures. the purpose of this study is to assess and compare the spatial and seasonal variations in anophelin ... | 0 | 22898476 |
| integrated mosquito larval source management reduces larval numbers in two highland villages in western kenya. | in western kenya, malaria remains one of the major health problems and its control remains an important public health measure. malaria control is by either use of drugs to treat patients infected with malaria parasites or by controlling the vectors. vector control may target the free living adult or aquatic (larval) stages of mosquito. the most commonly applied control strategies target indoor resting mosquitoes. however, because mosquitoes spend a considerable time in water, targeting the aquat ... | 2012 | 22607227 |
| dry season reproductive depression of anopheles gambiae in the sahel. | the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae, is widespread south of the sahara including in dry savannahs and semi-arid environments where no surface water exists for several months a year. adults of the m form of an. gambiae persist through the long dry season, when no surface waters are available, by increasing their maximal survival from 4 weeks to 7 months. dry season diapause (aestivation) presumably underlies this extended survival. diapause in adult insects is intrinsically linked to ... | 2012 | 22609421 |
| identification and classification of detoxification enzymes from culex quinquefasciatus (diptera: culicidae). | molecular characterization of the insecticide resistance has become a hot research topic ever since the first disease transmitting arthropod (anopheles gambiae) genome sequence has unveiled in 2002. a recent publication of the culex quinquefasciatus genome sequence has opened up new opportunities for molecular and comparative genomic analysis of multiple mosquito genomes to characterize the insecticide resistance. here, we utilized a whole genome sequence of cx. quinquefasciatus to identify puta ... | 2012 | 22715314 |
| haemoglobin variants and plasmodium falciparum malaria in children under five years of age living in a high and seasonal malaria transmission area of burkina faso. | genetic factors play a key role in determining resistance/susceptibility to infectious disease. susceptibility of the human host to malaria infection has been reported to be influenced by genetic factors, which could be confounders if not taken into account in the assessment of the efficacy of interventions against malaria. this study aimed to assess the relationship between haemoglobin genotypes and malaria in children under five years in a site being characterized for future malaria vaccine tr ... | 2012 | 22559271 |
| genetic diversity of plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein-1 block 2 in sites of contrasting altitudes and malaria endemicities in the mount cameroon region. | the present study analyzed the relationship between the genetic diversity of plasmodium falciparum and parasitologic/entomologic indices in the mount cameroon region by using merozoite surface protein 1 as a genetic marker. blood samples were collected from asymptomatic children from three altitude zones (high, intermediate, and low). parasitologic and entomologic indices were determined by microscopy and landing catch mosquito collection/circumsporozoite protein-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assa ... | 0 | 22556072 |
| spatial and temporal dynamics of malaria transmission in rural western kenya. | understanding the relationship between plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission and health outcomes requires accurate estimates of exposure to infectious mosquitoes. however, measures of exposure such as mosquito density and entomological inoculation rate (eir) are generally aggregated over large areas and time periods, biasing the outcome-exposure relationship. there are few studies examining the extent and drivers of local variation in malaria exposure in endemic areas. | 2012 | 22541138 |
| characterization of the transcriptome of an ecologically important avian species, the vinous-throated parrotbill paradoxornis webbianus bulomachus (paradoxornithidae; aves). | adaptive divergence driven by environmental heterogeneity has long been a fascinating topic in ecology and evolutionary biology. the study of the genetic basis of adaptive divergence has, however, been greatly hampered by a lack of genomic information. the recent development of transcriptome sequencing provides an unprecedented opportunity to generate large amounts of genomic data for detailed investigations of the genetics of adaptive divergence in non-model organisms. herein, we used the illum ... | 2012 | 22530590 |
| characterization of a chitin synthase encoding gene and effect of diflubenzuron in soybean aphid, aphis glycines. | chitin synthases are critical enzymes for synthesis of chitin and thus for subsequent growth and development in insects. we identified the cdna of chitin synthase gene (chs) in aphis glycines, the soybean aphid, which is a serious pest of soybean. the full-length cdna of chs in a. glycines (aychs) was 5802 bp long with an open reading frame of 4704 bp that encoded for a 1567 amino acid residues protein. the predicted aychs protein had a molecular mass of 180.05 kda and its amino acid sequence co ... | 2012 | 23139631 |
| the effects of oviposition-site deprivation on anopheles gambiae reproduction. | the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae, depends on availability of suitable surface water for oviposition. short and long dry spells occur throughout the year in many parts of its range that limit its access to oviposition sites. although not well understood, oviposition-site deprivation has been found to rapidly reduce egg batch size and hatch rate of several mosquito species. we conducted laboratory experiments to assess these effects of oviposition-site deprivation on an. gambiae and ... | 2012 | 23072301 |
| reconsideration of anopheles rivulorum as a vector of plasmodium falciparum in western kenya: some evidence from biting time, blood preference, sporozoite positive rate, and pyrethroid resistance. | anopheles gambiae, an. arabiensis, and an. funestus are widespread malaria vectors in africa. anopheles rivulorum is the next most widespread species in the an. funestus group. the role of an. rivulorum as a malaria vector has not been fully studied, although it has been found to be a minor or opportunistic transmitter of plasmodium falciparum. | 2012 | 23050856 |
| functional organization and its implication in evolution of the human protein-protein interaction network. | based on the distinguishing properties of protein-protein interaction networks such as power-law degree distribution and modularity structure, several stochastic models for the evolution of these networks have been purposed, motivated by the idea that a validated model should reproduce similar topological properties of the empirical network. however, being able to capture topological properties does not necessarily mean it correctly reproduces how networks emerge and evolve. more importantly, th ... | 2012 | 22530615 |
| artemisinin-based combination therapy does not measurably reduce human infectiousness to vectors in a setting of intense malaria transmission. | artemisinin-based combination therapy (act) for treating malaria has activity against immature gametocytes. in theory, this property may complement the effect of terminating otherwise lengthy malaria infections and reducing the parasite reservoir in the human population that can infect vector mosquitoes. however, this has never been verified at a population level in a setting with intense transmission, where chronically infectious asymptomatic carriers are common and cured patients are rapidly a ... | 2012 | 22513162 |
| footprints of positive selection associated with a mutation (n1575y) in the voltage-gated sodium channel of anopheles gambiae. | insecticide resistance is an ideal model to study the emergence and spread of adaptative variants. in the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae, this is complemented by a strong public health rationale. in this insect, resistance to pyrethroid and ddt insecticides is strongly associated with the mutations l1014f and l1014s within the para voltage-gated sodium channel (vgsc). across much of west africa, 1014f frequency approaches fixation. here, we document the emergence of a mutation, n157 ... | 2012 | 22493253 |
| selection of mosquito life-histories: a hidden weapon against malaria? | there has recently been a substantial decline in malaria incidence in much of africa. while the decline can clearly be linked to increasing coverage of mosquito vector control interventions and effective drug treatment in most settings, the ubiquity of reduction raises the possibility that additional ecological and associated evolutionary changes may be reinforcing the effectiveness of current vector control strategies in previously unanticipated ways. | 2012 | 22471997 |
| a refined estimate of the malaria burden in niger. | the health authorities of niger have implemented several malaria prevention and control programmes in recent years. these interventions broadly follow who guidelines and international recommendations and are based on interventions that have proved successful in other parts of africa. most performance indicators are satisfactory but, paradoxically, despite the mobilization of considerable human and financial resources, the malaria-fighting programme in niger seems to have stalled, as it has not y ... | 2012 | 22453027 |
| exploiting the behaviour of wild malaria vectors to achieve high infection with fungal biocontrol agents. | control of mosquitoes that transmit malaria has been the mainstay in the fight against the disease, but alternative methods are required in view of emerging insecticide resistance. entomopathogenic fungi are candidate alternatives, but to date, few trials have translated the use of these agents to field-based evaluations of their actual impact on mosquito survival and malaria risk. mineral oil-formulations of the entomopathogenic fungi metarhizium anisopliae and beauveria bassiana were applied u ... | 2012 | 22449130 |
| utilization of combined remote sensing techniques to detect environmental variables influencing malaria vector densities in rural west africa. | the use of remote sensing has found its way into the field of epidemiology within the last decades. with the increased sensor resolution of recent and future satellites new possibilities emerge for high resolution risk modeling and risk mapping. | 2012 | 22443452 |
| antibodies to malaria vaccine candidates are associated with chloroquine or sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine treatment efficacy in children in an endemic area of burkina faso. | patient immune status is thought to affect the efficacy of anti-malarial chemotherapy. this is a subject of some importance, since evidence of immunity-related interactions may influence our use of chemotherapy in populations with drug resistance, as well as assessment of the value of suboptimal vaccines. the study aim was to investigate relationship between antibodies and anti-malarial drug treatment outcomes. | 2012 | 22439695 |
| first malaria infections in a cohort of infants in benin: biological, environmental and genetic determinants. description of the study site, population methods and preliminary results. | malaria infection of the placenta during pregnancy was found to be associated with infant susceptibility to malaria. other factors such as the intensity of malaria transmission and the nutritional status of the child might also play a role, which has not been adequately taken into account in previous studies. the aim of this study was to assess precisely the parts played by environmental, nutritional and biological determinants in first malaria infections, with a special interest in the role of ... | 2012 | 22403339 |
| single-nucleotide polymorphisms for high-throughput genotyping of anopheles arabiensis in east and southern africa. | anopheles arabiensis patton is one of the principal vectors of malaria in sub-saharan africa, occupying a wide variety of ecological zones. this species is increasingly responsible for malaria transmission in africa and is becoming the dominant vector species in some localities. despite its growing importance, little is known about genetic polymorphisms in this species. multiple sequences of various gene fragments from an. arabiensis isolates from cameroon were obtained from genbank. in total, 2 ... | 0 | 22493848 |
| cholinergic and non-cholinergic functions of two acetylcholinesterase genes revealed by gene-silencing in tribolium castaneum. | we compared biological functions of two acetylcholinesterase genes (tcace1 and tcace2) in tribolium castaneum, a globally distributed major pest of stored grain products and an emerging model organism, by using rna interference. although both genes expressed at all developmental stages and mainly in the brain, the transcript level of tcace1 was 1.2- to 8.7-fold higher than that of tcace2, depending on developmental stages. silencing tcace1 in 20-day larvae led to 100% mortality within two weeks ... | 2012 | 22371826 |
| predicting the current and future potential distributions of lymphatic filariasis in africa using maximum entropy ecological niche modelling. | modelling the spatial distributions of human parasite species is crucial to understanding the environmental determinants of infection as well as for guiding the planning of control programmes. here, we use ecological niche modelling to map the current potential distribution of the macroparasitic disease, lymphatic filariasis (lf), in africa, and to estimate how future changes in climate and population could affect its spread and burden across the continent. we used 508 community-specific infecti ... | 2012 | 22359670 |
| spatially explicit analyses of anopheline mosquitoes indoor resting density: implications for malaria control. | the question of sampling and spatial aggregation of malaria vectors is central to vector control efforts and estimates of transmission. spatial patterns of anopheline populations are complex because mosquitoes' habitats and behaviors are strongly heterogeneous. analyses of spatially referenced counts provide a powerful approach to delineate complex distribution patterns, and contributions of these methods in the study and control of malaria vectors must be carefully evaluated. | 2012 | 22348131 |
| coalescent patterns for chromosomal inversions in divergent populations. | chromosomal inversions allow genetic divergence of locally adapted populations by reducing recombination between chromosomes with different arrangements. divergence between populations (or hybridization between species) is expected to leave signatures in the neutral genetic diversity of the inverted region. quantitative expectations for these patterns, however, have not been obtained. here, we develop coalescent models of neutral sites linked to an inversion polymorphism in two locally adapted p ... | 0 | 22201172 |
| intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine does not modify plasma cytokines and chemokines or intracellular cytokine responses to plasmodium falciparum in mozambican children. | cytokines and chemokines are key mediators of anti-malarial immunity. we evaluated whether intermittent preventive treatment in infants with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (ipti-sp) had an effect on the acquisition of these cellular immune responses in mozambican children. multiple cytokines and chemokines were quantified in plasma by luminex, and antigen-specific cytokine production in whole blood was determined by intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometry, at ages 5, 9, 12 and 24 months. | 2012 | 22280502 |
| dry season determinants of malaria disease and net use in benin, west africa. | to achieve malaria eradication, control efforts have to be sustained even when the incidence of malaria cases becomes low during the dry season. in this work, malaria incidence and its determinants including bed net use were investigated in children of under 5 years of age in 28 villages in southern benin during the dry season. | 2012 | 22291987 |
| changes in malaria morbidity and mortality in mpumalanga province, south africa (2001-2009): a retrospective study. | malaria remains a serious epidemic threat in mpumalanga province. in order to appropriately target interventions to achieve substantial reduction in the burden of malaria and ultimately eliminate the disease, there is a need to track progress of malaria control efforts by assessing the time trends and evaluating the impact of current control interventions. this study aimed to assess the changes in the burden of malaria in mpumalanga province during the past eight malaria seasons (2001/02 to 2008 ... | 2012 | 22239855 |
| importance of factors determining the effective lifetime of a mass, long-lasting, insecticidal net distribution: a sensitivity analysis. | long-lasting insecticidal nets (llins) reduce malaria transmission by protecting individuals from infectious bites, and by reducing mosquito survival. in recent years, millions of llins have been distributed across sub-saharan africa (ssa). over time, llins decay physically and chemically and are destroyed, making repeated interventions necessary to prevent a resurgence of malaria. because its effects on transmission are important (more so than the effects of individual protection), estimates of ... | 2012 | 22244509 |
| elastomeric polypeptides. | elastomeric polypeptides are very interesting biopolymers and are characterized by rubber-like elasticity, large extensibility before rupture, reversible deformation without loss of energy, and high resilience upon stretching. their useful properties have motivated their use in a wide variety of materials and biological applications. this chapter focuses on elastin and resilin - two elastomeric biopolymers - and the recombinant polypeptides derived from them (elastin-like polypeptides and resili ... | 0 | 21826606 |
| composition of human skin microbiota affects attractiveness to malaria mosquitoes. | the african malaria mosquito anopheles gambiae sensu stricto continues to play an important role in malaria transmission, which is aggravated by its high degree of anthropophily, making it among the foremost vectors of this disease. in the current study we set out to unravel the strong association between this mosquito species and human beings, as it is determined by odorant cues derived from the human skin. microbial communities on the skin play key roles in the production of human body odour. ... | 2011 | 22216154 |
| a de novo transcriptome of the asian tiger mosquito, aedes albopictus, to identify candidate transcripts for diapause preparation. | many temperate insects survive the harsh conditions of winter by undergoing photoperiodic diapause, a pre-programmed developmental arrest initiated by short day lengths. despite the well-established ecological significance of photoperiodic diapause, the molecular basis of this crucial adaptation remains largely unresolved. the asian tiger mosquito, aedes albopictus (skuse), represents an outstanding emerging model to investigate the molecular basis of photoperiodic diapause in a well-defined eco ... | 2011 | 22185595 |
| what drives community adherence to indoor residual spraying (irs) against malaria in manhiça district, rural mozambique: a qualitative study. | malaria control remains a challenge in sub-saharan africa. in 2006, the world health organization (who) reinforced the recommendation of indoor residual spraying (irs) with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ddt) to reduce malaria transmission. the national malaria control programme has been reporting high coverage rates of irs in mozambique. it is important to establish to what extent these rates are a reflection of community acceptability, and to explore the factors associated with adherence, in ... | 2011 | 22111698 |
| identification and functional characterization of two orphan g-protein-coupled receptors for adipokinetic hormones from silkworm bombyx mori. | adipokinetic hormones (akhs) are the best studied insect neuropeptides with the function of mobilizing lipids and carbohydrates during energy-expensive activities and modulating fundamental physiological processes, such as sugar homeostasis, lipid metabolism, and reproduction. three distinct cdnas encoding the prepro-bombyx akh1-3 have been cloned and confirmed by mass spectrometric methods. our previous research suggested the bombyx akh receptor is activated by akh1 and akh2 with high affinity ... | 2011 | 22009754 |
| a malaria transmission-directed model of mosquito life cycle and ecology. | malaria is a major public health issue in much of the world, and the mosquito vectors which drive transmission are key targets for interventions. mathematical models for planning malaria eradication benefit from detailed representations of local mosquito populations, their natural dynamics and their response to campaign pressures. | 2011 | 21999664 |
| progress towards understanding the ecology and epidemiology of malaria in the western kenya highlands: opportunities and challenges for control under climate change risk. | following severe malaria epidemics in the western kenya highlands after the late 1980s it became imperative to undertake eco-epidemiological assessments of the disease and determine its drivers, spatial-temporal distribution and control strategies. extensive research has indicated that the major biophysical drivers of the disease are climate change and variability, terrain, topography, hydrology and immunity. vector distribution is focalized at valley bottoms and abundance is closely related wit ... | 2011 | 22015426 |
| imaginal discs--a new source of chromosomes for genome mapping of the yellow fever mosquito aedes aegypti. | the mosquito aedes aegypti is the primary global vector for dengue and yellow fever viruses. sequencing of the ae. aegypti genome has stimulated research in vector biology and insect genomics. however, the current genome assembly is highly fragmented with only ~31% of the genome being assigned to chromosomes. a lack of a reliable source of chromosomes for physical mapping has been a major impediment to improving the genome assembly of ae. aegypti. | 2011 | 21991400 |
| knickkopf protein protects and organizes chitin in the newly synthesized insect exoskeleton. | during each molting cycle of insect development, synthesis of new cuticle occurs concurrently with the partial degradation of the overlying old exoskeleton. protection of the newly synthesized cuticle from molting fluid enzymes has long been attributed to the presence of an impermeable envelope layer that was thought to serve as a physical barrier, preventing molting fluid enzymes from accessing the new cuticle and thereby ensuring selective degradation of only the old one. in this study, using ... | 2011 | 21930896 |
| preventing the reintroduction of malaria in mauritius: a programmatic and financial assessment. | sustaining elimination of malaria in areas with high receptivity and vulnerability will require effective strategies to prevent reestablishment of local transmission, yet there is a dearth of evidence about this phase. mauritius offers a uniquely informative history, with elimination of local transmission in 1969, re-emergence in 1975, and second elimination in 1998. towards this end, mauritius's elimination and prevention of reintroduction (por) programs were analyzed via a comprehensive review ... | 2011 | 21912645 |
| challenges and prospects for malaria elimination in the southern africa region. | the burden of malaria has decreased dramatically within the past several years in parts of sub-saharan africa, including regions of southern africa. important to effective regional malaria control in southern africa is the appreciation that the reductions in malaria have not been achieved uniformly, with some countries experiencing resurgence. understanding the reasons for sustained low-level malaria transmission in the face of control efforts, why malaria control efforts have not been successfu ... | 2011 | 21871864 |
| influence of the timing of malaria infection during pregnancy on birth weight and on maternal anemia in benin. | abstract. although consequences of malaria in pregnancy are well known, the period of pregnancy in which infection has the highest impact is still unclear. in benin, we followed up a cohort of 1,037 women through pregnancy until delivery. the objective was to evaluate the relationship between the timing of infection and birth weight, and maternal anemia at delivery. at the beginning of pregnancy, peripheral infections were associated with a decrease in mean birth weight (-98.5 g; p = 0.03) and a ... | 0 | 21813837 |
| target product profile choices for intra-domiciliary malaria vector control pesticide products: repel or kill? | the most common pesticide products for controlling malaria-transmitting mosquitoes combine two distinct modes of action: 1) conventional insecticidal activity which kills mosquitoes exposed to the pesticide and 2) deterrence of mosquitoes away from protected humans. while deterrence enhances personal or household protection of long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual sprays, it may also attenuate or even reverse communal protection if it diverts mosquitoes to non-users rather than kill ... | 2011 | 21798023 |
| malaria control in malawi: current status and directions for the future. | the last decade has seen an increase in investment and concerted efforts by the malawi ministry of health and partners to control malaria disease. this report summarizes what is known about the burden of malaria and the strategies being implemented to control it in malawi. over the past 5 years, roll out of treatment and prevention efforts have been successful in the country, as demonstrated by increased use of insecticide treated nets, improved access to prompt and effective treatment and the i ... | 2011 | 21763670 |
| relationship between care-givers' misconceptions and non-use of itns by under-five nigerian children. | malaria has been a major public health problem in nigeria and many other sub-saharan african countries. insecticide-treated nets have shown to be cost-effective in the prevention of malaria, but the number of people that actually use these nets has remained generally low. studies that explore the determinants of use of itn are desirable. | 2011 | 21696622 |
| field evaluation of the intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy (iptp) in benin: evolution of the coverage rate since its implementation. | malaria is an important public health problem in africa. pregnant women are a vulnerable population and this disease can underlie an increased risk of low-birth weight newborns (< 2500 g); these women therefore need management during pregnancy. this was previously provided by chloroquine treatment, which, because of compliance problems and drug resistance, was replaced by intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (itpp-sp) with two single doses taken after 16 weeks of amen ... | 2011 | 21679439 |
| scanranker: quality assessment of tandem mass spectra via sequence tagging. | in shotgun proteomics, protein identification by tandem mass spectrometry relies on bioinformatics tools. despite recent improvements in identification algorithms, a significant number of high quality spectra remain unidentified for various reasons. here we present scanranker, an open-source tool that evaluates the quality of tandem mass spectra via sequence tagging with reliable performance in data from different instruments. the superior performance of scanranker enables it not only to find un ... | 2011 | 21520941 |
| conquering malaria: enhancing the impact of effective interventions towards elimination in the diverse and changing epidemiology. | malaria remains a major global disease burden causing just under a million deaths each year, mainly of children and pregnant women in sub-saharan africa. it consumes up to 40% of public health expenditure of these poor countries, causing in africa us$ 12 billion in lost gdp every year. this should not be acceptable since malaria is preventable, and there is clear evidence that optimal use of current tools can reduce much of the suffering and deaths. three major factors allowing this to happen in ... | 0 | 21731304 |
| molecular analysis of nutritional and hormonal regulation of female reproduction in the red flour beetle, tribolium castaneum. | female reproduction includes maturation of oocytes and the synthesis of yolk proteins (vitellogenin, vg) in the fat body and their deposition into the oocytes. our recent studies showed that juvenile hormone (jh) regulates vg synthesis and 20-hydroxyecdysone (20e) regulates oocyte maturation in the red flour beetle (tribolium castaneum). here, we report on the role of nutritional signaling on vitellogenesis and oogenesis. comparison of gene expression between fed and starved beetles by microarra ... | 2011 | 21288489 |
| impact of malaria at the end of pregnancy on infant mortality and morbidity. | there is some consensus that malaria in pregnancy may negatively affect infant's mortality and malaria morbidity, but there is less evidence concerning the factors involved. | 2011 | 21199881 |
| natural history and intragenomic dynamics of the transib transposon hztransib in the cotton bollworm helicoverpa zea. | hztransib, recently identified from helicoverpa zea, represents the first intact and transcriptionally active transib element. its open reading frame was detected in helicoverpa armigera, from which h. zea evolved, and in helicoverpa assulta, the common ancestor of h. zea and h. armigera, but its remaining parts were found only in h. armigera. thirty-nine hztransib insertion sites, all of which are polymorphic, were detected from eight populations of h. zea. out of the 39 insertion sites, 35 wer ... | 2010 | 21166910 |
| end-sequencing and characterization of silkworm (bombyx mori) bacterial artificial chromosome libraries. | we performed large-scale bacterial artificial chromosome (bac) end-sequencing of two bac libraries (an ecori- and a bamhi-digested library) and conducted an in silico analysis to characterize the obtained sequence data, to make them a useful resource for genomic research on the silkworm (bombyx mori). | 2007 | 17822570 |
| functional classification and central nervous projections of olfactory receptor neurons housed in antennal trichoid sensilla of female yellow fever mosquitoes, aedes aegypti. | mosquitoes are highly dependent on their olfactory system for, e.g. host location and identification of nectar-feeding and oviposition sites. odours are detected by olfactory receptor neurons (orns) housed in hair-shaped structures, sensilla, on the antennae and maxillary palps. in order to unravel the function of the olfactory system in the yellow fever vector, aedes aegypti, we performed single-sensillum recordings from trichoid sensilla on female antennae. these sensilla are divided into four ... | 0 | 17880395 |
| assessing malaria control in the kassena-nankana district of northern ghana through repeated surveys using the rbm tools. | the goal of roll back malaria (rbm) is to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality by 50% by the year 2010, and still further thereafter until the disease becomes no more a threat to public health. to contribute to the monitoring and evaluation process of this goal, two surveys were carried out in 2000 and 2003 in households and health facilities in the kassena-nankana district, northern ghana using the rbm-who/afro monitoring and evaluation tools for malaria control activities. | 2007 | 17683584 |
| severe falciparum malaria in young children of the kassena-nankana district of northern ghana. | severe falciparum malaria in children was studied as part of the characterization of the kassena-nankana district ghana for future malaria vaccine trials. children aged 6-59 months with diagnosis suggestive of acute disease were characterized using the standard who definition for severe malaria. | 2007 | 17662142 |
| preventing childhood malaria in africa by protecting adults from mosquitoes with insecticide-treated nets. | malaria prevention in africa merits particular attention as the world strives toward a better life for the poorest. insecticide-treated nets (itns) represent a practical means to prevent malaria in africa, so scaling up coverage to at least 80% of young children and pregnant women by 2010 is integral to the millennium development goals (mdg). targeting individual protection to vulnerable groups is an accepted priority, but community-level impacts of broader population coverage are largely ignore ... | 0 | 17608562 |
| cr1 clade of non-ltr retrotransposons from maculinea butterflies (lepidoptera: lycaenidae): evidence for recent horizontal transmission. | non-long terminal repeat (non-ltr) retrotransposons are mobile genetic elements that propagate themselves by reverse transcription of an rna intermediate. non-ltr retrotransposons are known to evolve mainly via vertical transmission and random loss. horizontal transmission is believed to be a very rare event in non-ltr retrotransposons. our knowledge of distribution and diversity of insect non-ltr retrotransposons is limited to a few species - mainly model organisms such as dipteran genera droso ... | 2007 | 17588269 |
| randomized clinical trial of artemisinin versus non-artemisinin combination therapy for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in madagascar. | data concerning antimalarial combination treatment for uncomplicated malaria in madagascar are largely lacking. randomized clinical trial was designed to assess therapeutic efficacies of chloroquine (cq), amodiaquine (aq), sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (sp), amodiaquine plus sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine combination (aq+sp) and artesunate plus amodiaquine combination (aq+as). | 2007 | 17519010 |
| neuropeptide precursors in tribolium castaneum. | neuropeptides and neurohormones are among the more diverse and functionally important classes of cell-to-cell signaling molecules involved in animal development and behavior. less is known about the hormones and neuropeptides of the red flour beetle, tribolium castaneum, than many other insects. however, the genomic information becoming available from this organism presents an opportunity to identify multiple neuropeptide and hormone genes, and hence their associated protein precursors. using si ... | 2007 | 17537543 |
| an exploratory study of community factors relevant for participatory malaria control on rusinga island, western kenya. | capacity strengthening of rural communities, and the various actors that support them, is needed to enable them to lead their own malaria control programmes. here the existing capacity of a rural community in western kenya was evaluated in preparation for a larger intervention. | 2007 | 17456231 |
| evaluation of two formulations of adjuvanted rts, s malaria vaccine in children aged 3 to 5 years living in a malaria-endemic region of mozambique: a phase i/iib randomized double-blind bridging trial. | previous trials of the rts, s malaria candidate vaccine have shown that this vaccine is safe, tolerated and immunogenic. the development plan for this vaccine aims at administering it in the first year of life through the expanded program on immunization (epi). the objective was to evaluate the safety and reactogenicity of rts, s/as02d (0.5 ml dose), a pediatric formulation of glaxosmithkline biologicals' current malaria candidate vaccine rts, s/as02a (0.25 ml dose). a 0.5 ml dose of as02d is co ... | 2007 | 17386091 |
| in-vivo parasitological response to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in pregnant women in southern malawi. | malaria in pregnancy is a significant cause of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. malawi adopted intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxinepyrimethamine (sp) for the control of malaria in pregnancy in 1993. however there is little information on the in-vivo sp efficacy in pregnant women. this study was conducted to determine: prevalence of malaria and anaemia at the first antenatal visit and rate of parasitological failure to sp in pregnancy. | 0 | 23878625 |
| towards abolition of immunogenic structures in insect cells: characterization of a honey-bee (apis mellifera) multi-gene family reveals both an allergy-related core alpha1,3-fucosyltransferase and the first insect lewis-histo-blood-group-related antigen-synthesizing enzyme. | glycoproteins from honey-bee (apis mellifera), such as phospholipase a2 and hyaluronidase, are well-known major bee-venom allergens. they carry n-linked oligosaccharide structures with two types of alpha1,3-fucosylation: the modification by alpha1,3-fucose of the innermost core glcnac, which constitutes an epitope recognized by ige from some bee-venom-allergic patients, and an antennal lewis-like galnacbeta1,4(fucalpha1,3)glcnac moiety. we now report the cloning and expression of two cdnas encod ... | 0 | 17029591 |
| apolipocrustacein, formerly vitellogenin, is the major egg yolk precursor protein in decapod crustaceans and is homologous to insect apolipophorin ii/i and vertebrate apolipoprotein b. | in animals, the biogenesis of some lipoprotein classes requires members of the ancient large lipid transfer protein (lltp) superfamily, including the cytosolic large subunit of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (mtp), vertebrate apolipoprotein b (apob), vitellogenin (vtg), and insect apolipophorin ii/i precursor (apolp-ii/i). in most oviparous species, vtg, a large glycolipoprotein, is the main egg yolk precursor protein. | 2007 | 17241455 |
| improved repeat identification and masking in dipterans. | repetitive sequences are a major constituent of many eukaryote genomes and play roles in gene regulation, chromosome inheritance, nuclear architecture, and genome stability. the identification of repetitive elements has traditionally relied on in-depth, manual curation and computational determination of close relatives based on dna identity. however, the rapid divergence of repetitive sequence has made identification of repeats by dna identity difficult even in closely related species. hence, th ... | 2006 | 17137733 |
| insights into the evolution of the erbb receptor family and their ligands from sequence analysis. | in the time since we presented the first molecular evolutionary study of the erbb family of receptors and the egf family of ligands, there has been a dramatic increase in genomic sequences available. we have utilized this greatly expanded data set in this study of the erbb family of receptors and their ligands. | 2006 | 17026767 |
| arrestins: ubiquitous regulators of cellular signaling pathways. | in vertebrates, the arrestins are a family of four proteins that regulate the signaling and trafficking of hundreds of different g-protein-coupled receptors (gpcrs). arrestin homologs are also found in insects, protochordates and nematodes. fungi and protists have related proteins but do not have true arrestins. structural information is available only for free (unbound) vertebrate arrestins, and shows that the conserved overall fold is elongated and composed of two domains, with the core of eac ... | 0 | 17020596 |
| malaria hotspot areas in a highland kenya site are consistent in epidemic and non-epidemic years and are associated with ecological factors. | malaria epidemics in highland areas of east africa have caused considerable morbidity and mortality in the past two decades. knowledge of "hotspot" areas of high malaria incidence would allow for focused preventive interventions in resource-poor areas, particularly if the hotspot areas can be discerned during non-epidemic periods and predicted by ecological factors. | 2006 | 16970824 |
| overlapping functions of argonaute proteins in patterning and morphogenesis of drosophila embryos. | argonaute proteins are essential components of the molecular machinery that drives rna silencing. in drosophila, different members of the argonaute family of proteins have been assigned to distinct rna silencing pathways. while ago1 is required for microrna function, ago2 is a crucial component of the rna-induced silencing complex in sirna-triggered rna interference. drosophila ago2 contains an unusual amino-terminus with two types of imperfect glutamine-rich repeats (grrs) of unknown function. ... | 2006 | 16934003 |
| plotrep: a web tool for defragmentation and visual analysis of dispersed genomic repeats. | identification of dispersed or interspersed repeats, most of which are derived from transposons, retrotransposons or retrovirus-like elements, is an important step in genome annotation. software tools that compare genomic sequences with precompiled repeat reference libraries using sensitive similarity-based methods provide reliable means of finding the positions of fragments homologous to known repeats. however, their output is often incomplete and fragmented owing to the mutations (nucleotide s ... | 0 | 16845104 |
| comparison of coverage with insecticide-treated nets in a tanzanian town and villages where nets and insecticide are either marketed or provided free of charge. | there is much emphasis on social marketing as a means of scaling up coverage with insecticide-treated nets and the question has arisen whether nets provided free-of-charge will be looked after by householders. | 2006 | 16712738 |
| malaria risk and temperature: influences from global climate change and local land use practices. | | 2006 | 16595623 |
| diversity and utilization of antimalarial ethnophytotherapeutic remedies among the kikuyus (central kenya). | plants in kenya are becoming increasingly important as sources of traditional medicines. the world health organization (who) has estimated that malaria kills about 2.7 million people every year, 90% of who are from africa. malaria continues to be a national concern in kenya as it plays a major role in the high mortality rates being experienced currently. the use and mis-use of chloroquine to prevent and treat falciparium malaria has led to widespread appearance of chloroquine resistant parasites ... | 2006 | 16451716 |
| rem1, a new type of long terminal repeat retrotransposon in chlamydomonas reinhardtii. | a new long terminal repeat (ltr) retrotransposon, named rem1, has been identified in the green alga chlamydomonas reinhardtii. it was found in low copy number, highly methylated, and with an inducible transpositional activity. this retrotransposon is phylogenetically related to ty3-gypsy ltr retrotransposons and possesses new and unusual structural features. a regulatory module, orf3p, is present in an inverse transcriptional orientation to that of the polyprotein and contains phd-finger and chr ... | 0 | 16287873 |
| a spider that feeds indirectly on vertebrate blood by choosing female mosquitoes as prey. | spiders do not feed directly on vertebrate blood, but a small east african jumping spider (salticidae), evarcha culicivora, feeds indirectly on vertebrate blood by choosing as preferred prey female mosquitoes that have had recent blood meals. experiments show that this spider can identify its preferred prey by sight alone and by odor alone. when presented with two types of size-matched motionless lures, e. culicivora consistently chose blood-fed female mosquitoes in preference to nonmosquito pre ... | 2005 | 16217015 |
| combined evidence annotation of transposable elements in genome sequences. | transposable elements (tes) are mobile, repetitive sequences that make up significant fractions of metazoan genomes. despite their near ubiquity and importance in genome and chromosome biology, most efforts to annotate tes in genome sequences rely on the results of a single computational program, repeatmasker. in contrast, recent advances in gene annotation indicate that high-quality gene models can be produced from combining multiple independent sources of computational evidence. to elevate the ... | 2005 | 16110336 |
| a simulation model of african anopheles ecology and population dynamics for the analysis of malaria transmission. | malaria is one of the oldest and deadliest infectious diseases in humans. many mathematical models of malaria have been developed during the past century, and applied to potential interventions. however, malaria remains uncontrolled and is increasing in many areas, as are vector and parasite resistance to insecticides and drugs. | 2004 | 15285781 |
| evolutionary conservation of the u7 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein in drosophila melanogaster. | the u7 snrnp involved in histone rna 3' end processing is related to but biochemically distinct from spliceosomal snrnps. in vertebrates, the sm core structure assembling around the noncanonical sm-binding sequence of u7 snrna contains only five of the seven standard sm proteins. the missing sm d1 and d2 subunits are replaced by u7-specific sm-like proteins lsm10 and lsm11, at least the latter of which is important for histone rna processing. so far, it was unknown if this special u7 snrnp compo ... | 0 | 14624008 |
| malaria. | | 0 | 12446541 |
| a possible alternative method for collecting mosquito larvae in rice fields. | rice fields are efficient breeding places for malaria vectors in madagascar. in order to establish as easily as possible if a rice field is an effective larval site for anophelines, we compared classical dipping versus a net as methods of collecting larvae. | 2002 | 12057018 |
| know your enemy: some facts about the natural history of malawi's anopheles mosquitoes and implications for malaria control. | in this article i examine the relevance of environmental control techniques in malawi in the context of what we know about breeding, resting and feeding habits of the common anopheles species. i hope that this article may help to put to rest some common misconceptions concerning anopheles control as a malaria prevention strategy. | 0 | 27528915 |
| the malaria vectors of the lower shire valley, malawi. | the aim of this study was to characterise breeding sites and climatic factors that influence the abundance of malaria vectors in the lower shire valley, malawi. we regularly sampled adult and larval mosquitoes over the transition periods between the wet and dry seasons during 2000 and 2001. three potential malaria vectors, an. arabiensis, an. gambine sensu stricto and an. funestus, and a fourth non-vector species an. quadriannulatus, were identified. (this is the first record of an. quadriannula ... | 0 | 27528914 |
| ethical debate: doctoring malaria, badly: the global campaign to ban ddt. | | 0 | 11099289 |
| heterogeneities in the transmission of infectious agents: implications for the design of control programs. | from an analysis of the distributions of measures of transmission rates among hosts, we identify an empirical relationship suggesting that, typically, 20% of the host population contributes at least 80% of the net transmission potential, as measured by the basic reproduction number, r0. this is an example of a statistical pattern known as the 20/80 rule. the rule applies to a variety of disease systems, including vector-borne parasites and sexually transmitted pathogens. the rule implies that co ... | 0 | 8990210 |
| a network population model of the dynamics and control of african malaria vectors. | a more robust assessment of malaria control through mosquito larval habitat destruction will come from a better understanding of the distribution, productivity and connectivity of breeding sites. the present study examines the significance of vector dispersal ability, larval habitat stability and productivity on the persistence and extinction of a mosquito population inhabiting a dynamic network of breeding sites. we use this novel method of vector modelling to show that when dispersal is limite ... | 0 | 20813387 |
| a behavioral mechanism underlying ecological divergence in the malaria mosquito anopheles gambiae. | disruptive selection mediated by predation on aquatic immature stages has been proposed as a major force driving ecological divergence and fostering speciation between the m and s molecular forms of the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae. in the dry savannahs of west africa where both molecular forms co-occur, the s form thrives in temporary pools filled with rainwater, whereas the m form preferentially breeds in permanent freshwater habitats where predator pressure is higher. here, we ... | 0 | 22476108 |
| investigating portable fluorescent microscopy (cyscope) as an alternative rapid diagnostic test for malaria in children and women of child-bearing age. | prompt and correct diagnosis of malaria is crucial for accurate epidemiological assessment and better case management, and while the gold standard of light microscopy is often available, it requires both expertise and time. portable fluorescent microscopy using the cyscope offers a potentially quicker, easier and more field-applicable alternative. this article reports on the strengths, limitations of this methodology and its diagnostic performance in cross-sectional surveys on young children and ... | 2010 | 20799940 |
| which family members use the best nets? an analysis of the condition of mosquito nets and their distribution within households in tanzania. | household ownership of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (itns) is increasing, and coverage targets have been revised to address universal coverage with itns. however, many households do not have enough nets to cover everyone, and the nets available vary in physical condition and insecticide treatment status. since 2004, the government of tanzania has been implementing the tanzania national voucher scheme (tnvs), which distributes vouchers for itns through antenatal clinics to target pregnant wo ... | 2010 | 20663143 |
| principal component analysis of socioeconomic factors and their association with malaria in children from the ashanti region, ghana. | the socioeconomic and sociodemographic situation are important components for the design and assessment of malaria control measures. in malaria endemic areas, however, valid classification of socioeconomic factors is difficult due to the lack of standardized tax and income data. the objective of this study was to quantify household socioeconomic levels using principal component analyses (pca) to a set of indicator variables and to use a classification scheme for the multivariate analysis of chil ... | 2010 | 20626839 |